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Rules of Origin: a ‘hidden hard Brexit’ for the UK food industry?

5 April 2018

The Food and Drink Federation has published a report on the potential impact of rules of origin on UK food and drink exporters in the likely event that the UK ceases to be part of the EU customs union after Brexit.

Rules of origin are the detailed content requirements that determine whether goods are produced “locally” in order to benefit from preferential tariff rates. Food manufacturing is an internationalized business, with UK producers regularly sourcing ingredients from across the EU and globally, often because sourcing equivalent ingredients in the UK would not be economically or practically feasible.